If you belong to a crowded gym, and tend to visit during peak hours, you might be tended to sequence your workout by which machines are available. While this may save some time, it might not be the most effective way to maximize your workout. While personal trainers and sports medicine experts may have different opinions about exercise sequence, most agree that some type of sequence is important.
How Muscles Work
During any weight training exercise, one muscle group works as the agonist or prime mover. An opposing muscle group, called the antagonist, performs the opposing movement. During the biceps curl, the biceps or front if the arm bends the elbow. The triceps extend the arm during the return phase of the movement. The synergists, usually a smaller muscle group, assist the prime movers. When performing a bench press, for example, the triceps assist the pectoral muscles as they extend the arms. Proper exercise sequencing assures agonist/antagonist muscle balance, while leveraging the strength of the muscles acting as synergists.
Large to Small
The National Strength and Conditioning Association advises resistance training participants to perform large muscle complex exercises before small-muscle group isolation exercises. If you performed the triceps extension before the chest press, for example, your triceps, a weaker muscle group, may be unable to assist the pectorals during the bench press. Likewise, the biceps, which assist during the lat pull-down, and the hamstrings, which act as synergists during the leg press, will be too fatigued to assure proper form.
Abs
Your abdominal, especially your deep core muscles, protect your back and support your posture during weight training exercise. Trainer Marc David, author of the "Beginners Guide to Fitness and Bodybuilder," recommends training them at the end of your workout. Dedicating a separate abdominal training day is another option, says certified trainer Jimmy Penna. In an article in the August 2008 edition of "Muscle and Fitness, Penna suggests setting aside a day for an abs, calves and forearms workout.
Opposing Muscle Groups
Pairing opposing muscle groups assures a balanced workout. If you perform the chest fly, which accentuates cleavage in the front of your body, follow with the seated row, which develops the same type of definition in your upper back. Other pairs include biceps and triceps, front deltoid or shoulder and rear deltoid, hamstrings and quadriceps and inner and outer thighs. As one muscle contracts, the other lengthens, so using this sequence may reduce the amount of time you need to dedicate to static stretching.
Upper Or Lower
Starting with legs or upper body is a matter of personal preference, and may depend on the activities you performed right before your strength-training workout. If you spent an hour on the elliptical machine, for example, with the machine at its highest incline and resistance level, your legs and gluteal muscles may require some recovery time. Likewise, you just finished a tennis, squash, baseball or bowling game, your upper body muscles may need recovery.
References
- Exercise-Goals.com: Exercise Sequence/Order
- Muscle and Fitness: Abs, Calves and Forearms Day; Jimmy Penna; August 2008
- NSCA-Lift.org; Strength Training for Muscle Building Joseph A. Chromiak, Ph.D., CSCS
- JustaskMarc.com; Should You Train Your Abs Before Or After Your Workout?; Marc David; February 2007
